The proposed location for a multi-use indoor arena has shifted from Germantown to the midcounty, where the project's boosters expect to complete site purchase negotiations by the year's end.

Design work is underway on a 7,000-8,000 seat arena, which is receiving renewed interest from the corporate sector, according to William Askinazi, partner and general counsel for D&A Sports and Entertainment, which was created in 2006 and has exclusive negotiating rights for the project. He declined to name the midcounty site but said that it has "great access to transportation."

Backers have stepped up efforts to gain the county's support for the project, though it has not yet been determined what role the county could play.

"We're seeing a lot of people on the sidelines ready to put their money on a good prospect and the studies show this is a good prospect," Askinazi said. "Right now the county's not interested in owning it, so it would be privately owned."

D&A hopes to fund the arena, which could break ground in 18 months under the group's most optimistic projections, through private investment and state bonds, Askinazi said. The county Department of Economic Development has been looking at potential locations, but the project cannot move forward without a site or financing arrangement, county spokesman Patrick Lacefield said.

"It continues to be a work in progress," he said. "We've said all along that the initial work says there's a need for an arena, but in this fiscal climate we have to worry about our bread and butter like school construction first, the things that are more got-to-dos than nice-to-dos. But we still think there's a potential for something in the future."

Montgomery College's Germantown campus quickly emerged as a front-runner in the site search but is no longer under consideration, Askinazi said. Holy Cross Hospital is seeking the state's permission to build a hospital on the campus.

D&A has been in talks with a National Hockey League farm team and is also considering cricket fields and an indoor track, Askinazi said. The arena could be a venue for high school graduations, he said.

The proposed arena would be an ideal location for a youth development center similar to the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, Calif., according to Bruce Adams, director of the county Office of Community Partnerships. The office has discussed the possibility with D&A Sports, he said. Askinazi said the group supports the idea.

"The economy's tougher now and while the arena has good benefits, I think it could have broader benefits," Adams said. "My notion is one day we'll have a youth development center that would not only provide kids with out-of-school opportunities but also hook them into job opportunities in the sports complex."